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Topic: Wood Working - Tips/Tricks/Ideas (Read 5637 times)

One last thing (not regarding wood or cutters) how would I make the spires on Genosis?Wood base , wire mesh for rounded edges and plastercloft but I don't think that would make the tall thin "pointy" spire effect.

so how strong would wood glue be to atach teh mdfand how much does it runn for about. i on ly got 50 bucks so just wondering if i need to save a crap loada money

If you glue the material properly (clamp as well as fasten with a brad or screw) the joint will be stronger than the material itself. This is true of wood and most wood derivative products. If a panel has been glued properly it will split at a weak spot in the material vs. at the seam.

Wood glue is fairly inexpensive. Less than $10 for the bottle you'll need. A little goes a long way, and applying to both surfaces and smoothing the bead of glue with your finger or a piece of cardboard will create a better bond. 100% coverage isn't a must, but you'll get a stronger connection if you have a thin film on both surfaces. Don't put so much on that you'll get a glue line seeping out when you put it together, and keep a damp rag handy to wipe excess Ė a scraper (piece of metal with a burnished edge) can clean the line after the glue has dried.

Regarding the nail gun, Kevin is right. I used a compressor driven brad nailer. However, MDF is a material they will gladly cut down for you. Itís mostly the crazy treated woods that resist insects and plastics that release all kinds of badness they donít like to cut down.

I'm not really sure how to say this without sounding like a wet blanket, so I'm just going to put it out there. Safety really needs to be considered when you're working with tools like these - especially the table saw. Smaller table saws with smaller motors aren't necessarily safer. The engine can bind more easily on material a larger saw would blow through and create a kick-back or other unfortunate reaction. The guide fence is less accurate and easy to find out of alignment, also causing the saw to bind when sheet material is forced through the machine. The miter guide that comes with most saws is unsatisfactory for consistent cross cuts. I made my own cross cut sled to fit the table saw at the shop I used so I could work more accurately, faster and safer. A really good blade like the Freud I recommended above will help with that somewhat. The high speed steel that comes with lower end saws dull quickly and that can really compromise safety. Home Depot, Lowes and some wood working stores in your area should be able to provide some training, basic safety about where to stand, how to cut and where to keep your hands to avoid loosing fingers. These machines do more damage than an exacto slip.

When I was building my project, I thought a lot about how fortunate I was to have access to the tools I did and to have experience with them. I had a grandfather that let me pound nails as a kid, a lot of theatrical set building in high school and early college, and experience working in a furniture wood shop at the Rhode Island School of Design. It's a skill I easily take for granted and don't often put to use in my job or life, so it was a fun diversion to pick it up again. Mostly, I thought about how I wanted my three children to have the knowledge to do the same someday, and how would they get there? I thought a lot about how I had come to where I was with pulling off my project.

That said, I really encourage you to jump into this. It's a different set of tools that I believe you'll have an aptitude toward if you've been working with foam core and other customizing. I believe you'll get better results in quality and longevity out of these materials, just be safe and smart about it.

As for the Geonosis spires, it would be interesting to investigate a dripped wax technique over a rough armature form. Then a cast could be made of the result and you could crank out a number of objects to slightly modify so they would be more unique from each other.

Best of luck.

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"Regime change, like charity, begins at home." - Ira Glass, This American Life

I'd like to echo what Deanpaul said about saftey. Knowing the rules is a great way to protect yourself. They also make some nice Kevlar gloves that are resistant to cuts, and could turn a serious accident into a minor one.

I'd also like to second your input, Deanpaul, on the dripped wax over a frame. That could work well, once it was cast and so on. I know they make aquarium parts you could use, once you repaint them. If you do go that route, wash them with soap and water first. Mine always arive at the stores with this weird powder protection on it, and I'm not sure you want to mix paint or breathe it in.

I've started working on my small playset with the Masonite, to see if I want to partake in a larger scaled project.

So far I'm having trouble making an "imperial" themed blast doorway. I want to have the raised framing, just like a regular door, but for some reason ever time I try, it doesn't come out right, or my computer resizes my measurements come print time...

I've never heard of anyone wearing kevlar gloves to work on a table saw - doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I just don't see it as a good idea. Knowing the tool and having good contact with the material will protect you better than dressing up. Eye and ear protection are a must, but gloves would be more trouble than help. If you're working on smaller pieces close to the blade use a push stick or feather board, keep you hands away from the blade. A lot of the reports in the second link above talk about forcing material through a bound saw, and finding a quick give/slip that results in injury. The common thread to those stories is that each of those people was doing something wrong when they got hurt. Kevlar gloves wouldn't have protected the majority of those injuries, and certainly woudn't have prevented the issue that caused the injury in the first place. The moral is to know how to use the tool.

« Last Edit: December 29, 2005, 11:15 AM by Deanpaul »

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"Regime change, like charity, begins at home." - Ira Glass, This American Life

I don't know enough about them to say, Joe. It's going to come down to what you decide to spend. If you're planning on just messing around a smaller investment in tools makes sense. Three or four hundred dollars would buy a lot of Hasbro product.

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"Regime change, like charity, begins at home." - Ira Glass, This American Life

hmmmmm waht about a hand held scroll saw my dad has one of those would this be able to cut this wood product accuratleyand when attaching the peices the have certain angles to go on, so like one is 45% and the ohter is 45% so the connect to 90%. should i just use a electric sander? or should i use a saw to get the anglei need

To get a smoother cut with a hand held jig/scroll saw clamp a board as a guide to the board you want to cut. Just off-set the distance from the blade to the base plate of the saw and run the edge along it as a guide.

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"Regime change, like charity, begins at home." - Ira Glass, This American Life

p.s. let me change the thread title to woodworking tips .....just incase someone else is fishing through threads to find tips for saws and wood and finds this thread woodworking tips might be what he was looking for.

I've never heard of anyone wearing kevlar gloves to work on a table saw - doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I just don't see it as a good idea. Knowing the tool and having good contact with the material will protect you better than dressing up. Eye and ear protection are a must, but gloves would be more trouble than help. If you're working on smaller pieces close to the blade use a push stick or feather board, keep you hands away from the blade. A lot of the reports in the second link above talk about forcing material through a bound saw, and finding a quick give/slip that results in injury. The common thread to those stories is that each of those people was doing something wrong when they got hurt. Kevlar gloves wouldn't have protected the majority of those injuries, and certainly woudn't have prevented the issue that caused the injury in the first place. The moral is to know how to use the tool.

I'm speaking of the very tight cut proof gloves of course. I've seen a few folks use them while cutting 2 x 4's at a Habitat for Humanity build I was working on last year. I personally use a push stick when I'm working with the jig saw.

You'd be amazed at how many people use their legs instead of a horse to hold up a plank. I watched a guy cut right into his leg one day. Another friend at a Habitat build was usinga handsaw and needed 28 stitches after he sawed his own hand. How do you not know your doing it after stroke 1 is beoynd me.

lol omg that reminds me of last year in shop class. Brad this real idiot wasnt using a push stick to push his wprk, and he looked away for a second and cut that bunch of skin between ur thumb and index finger with a band saw. and it took him an extra minute to figure out he cut himself.

2 weeks later he cut a sliver out of his index finger. he never did learn. LOL

let this story all be a lesson to u never look away from ur work until the blade is off duh. lol, oh saftey glasses my freind took off his saftey glasses and some kid was sanding and a shard came of the stock and almost impaled my freinds eye